Rate this book

Before Versailles: A Novel Of Louis XIV (2011)

by Karleen Koen(Favorite Author)

3.75 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0307716570 (ISBN13: 9780307716576)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Crown

review 1: This novel depicts four months in the young life of Louis XIV just as he became King upon the death of the powerful Cardinal Mazarin in 1661. He is in a loveless marriage of convenience with his Spanish Queen, Maria Teresa, who brings boredom to court in comparison with Louis' brother Phillipe's wife, Henrietta. Of course, he finds himself falling in love with Henrietta, for a time, before he finds himself falling in love with one of her maids of honor,Louise de la Baume le Blanc. This whimsical look at Louis' love life is supplemented by a look at his resourcefulness in dealing with his finance minister who has become too dangerously powerful. The novel sets the stage for this iconic king who comes to be known as the Sun King for all that he accomplishes during his r... moreeign.
review 2: This story covers the four months at the beginning of Louis XIV's reign between the death of Cardinal Mazarin and the arrest of Nicolas Fouquet. It contains many elements of previous stories (the man in the iron mask, Louise de la Valliere, d'Artagnan), but combined to make a slightly different story. Koen does a fabulous job showing how events might have led to the extreme control and strict etiquette of his later reign. I haven't read anythig of hers since "Through a Glass Darkly." I wil definitely be finding more of her books, soon. less

Download links for: Before Versailles: A Novel of Louis XIV

Advertising